Antelope Canyon

"Located in deep, narrow limestone canyons draining into the in the vicinity of Wupatki Basin in northern Arizona are numerous small masonrywalled cliff ruins. While these were apparently occupied at the same time as the large pueblos now included within the boundaries of , they are little known and have not previously been reported upon except in the archaeological surveys of the . One of these sites, N.A.3940, situated with a southern exposure some fifty feet above the floor of Antelope Canyon, is of interest in that the masonry courses are laid in beds of grass rather than with the usual adobe mortar. The ruin itself is located in a shallow overhang in the Kaibab limestone cliff and contains but three small rooms."

"A canyon renown for its narrow, twisting limestone walls became a trap for 12 hikers on Tuesday when a flash flood filled it with a wall of water 11 feet high. The guide for several of the hikers survived, battered and his clothes ripped off by the force of the water, and the body of one woman was found yesterday. The other 10 are missing and presumed dead. The storm came without warning. A cloudburst 15 miles away sent heavy runoff down a normally dry wash in Antelope Canyon toward the unsuspecting sightseers. Rain had not fallen where they were hiking, said Benson Nez, a ranger on the Navajo reservation which the canyon runs through."

"Antelope Canyon is just a deep crack in the of northern Arizona, so narrow that hikers can hold out their arms and touch both sides. A favorite of desert photographers, in recent years it also became a regular stop for guided tours. Last year as many as 20,000 people climbed down to marvel at the swirling stone sculpted over eons by floodwaters. On Tuesday, as a dozen hikers descended into the slot canyon on ropes and ladders, a thunderstorm hit 15 miles to the south. In red-rock country, the ground doesn't absorb rain. Water runs off into washes and races downhill. The final destination for this storm's flash flood was Lake Powell; the last three miles would be through Antelope Canyon."

"The most photographed in the world is carved from slickrock near the shores of . Nobody knows canyons like Arizona. All across the state, those gouges in the landscape harbor scenery and secrets. The Grand may be the Big Kahuna, but others are also filled with wonders. Located near on , Antelope Canyon is a sliver of a slot canyon, cut from ancient stone that has been polished to perfection. The narrow defile features convoluted corkscrew formations shaped by water and wind over millions of years. Curved, rippling walls of glassy stone change colors throughout the day. Beams of light that seem like a living creature pour in from above."